To mask bbpress, just rename the folder to something other than the default when it’s unzipped of bbpress. Call it ‘forums’ or ‘discussions’. If you rename the bbpress folder before you start, you don’t need to change anything later. If you’ve already installed it, then there are a couple config hoops to jump through to move it.

You could also do a subdomain installation, like forums.example.com and not even show that it’s in a subdirectory at all. Then just map that subdomain to the directory where you’ve installed bbPress on the server. No need for directories at all in the URI/URL.

Masking is pretty silly, since one look at the source (if you even need to go that far, for WordPress and bbPress) will give away the secret (wp- and bb- anyone?) If you’re just trying to remain application-neutral, then I agree that this is worth doing (i.e. let’s say you want to use punBB or something later. If you used /forums for your bbPress installation, you can retain /forums and just install punBB in there.)

Thank you so much for that detailed response. Application neutral is what I am looking for. The /forums idea is a great suggestion and one I will follow. I haven’t started the install yet, I’m trying to get my ducks in order before I start shooting. I’m reading all I can about bbPress integration with WordPress so I do something I’m going to regret later on.